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Dec. 19, 2024

Fall 2024 Design Day Award Winners

College of Engineering, corporate sponsors name student project winners

The Michigan State University College of Engineering celebrated Engineering Design Day on Dec. 6, 2024. The event, now in its 31st year, showcased student projects from the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

Design Day projects and the 15-week capstone courses, which are required for graduation, provides a platform for students to apply the knowledge and experiences gained throughout their engineering education. Working in teams, seniors put their best efforts into solving real-world problems for large and small companies. At the end of each semester, teams present at Design Day and twelve top honors are named during the awards ceremony.

The winners for Fall 2024 Design Day are as follows:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Winner of the Rolla C. Carpenter Senior Design Award was Team 2: Red Cedar Engineering Group. (L to R) Reese Worden, Shane Williams, Dane Herczeg, Reegan Kelley, Daniel Gubrud, Owen Woods, Ricardo Ochoa
Winner of the Rolla C. Carpenter Senior Design Award was Team 2: Red Cedar Engineering Group. (L to R) Reese Worden, Shane Williams, Dane Herczeg, Reegan Kelley, Daniel Gubrud, Owen Woods, Ricardo Ochoa

Rolla C. Carpenter Senior Design Award

Description: The Rolla C. Carpenter Senior Design Award is presented to the best team as judged by the faculty and a panel of practicing engineers.

Team 2: Red Cedar Engineering Group – MSU and Henry Ford Health Research Building in Detroit.

Names: Shane Williams (structures), Reese Worden (geothermal), Dane Herczeg (transportation), Daniel Gubrud (environmental), Reegan Kelly (hydrology), Ricardo Ochoa (pavements), Owen Woods (project manager)

Computer Science and Engineering

Auto-Owners Insurance Exposition Award

  • Description: The CSE capstone team with the best overall Design Day performance is honored with the Auto-Owners Exposition Award, which is sponsored by Auto-Owners Insurance Company of Lansing.
  • Team Vectra AI – AI Cyberattack Early Warning System
  • Names: Ajay Kumar, Aleksa Popovic, Alex Fortsch, Morghane McAnelly, Graham Holley, Jacob Sock

MSU Federal Credit Union Praxis Award

  • Description: The CSE capstone team that engineers the software system that is the most technically challenging is recognized with the MSU Federal Credit Union Praxis Award, which is sponsored by MSU Federal Credit Union of East Lansing.
  • Team Launch – Spatial IoT Control using Apple Vision Pro
  • Names: Noah Wolff, James Ashworth, Jacob Hakala, Sanaye Lewis, Nathan Motzny, Ethan Egger

TechSmith Screencast Award

  • Description: The TechSmith Screencast Award goes to the CSE capstone team with the best project video. The award is sponsored by the creators of Camtasia Studio, TechSmith of East Lansing.
  • Team Kohl’s – Governance of Expense in Kohl’s Cloud Operations
  • Names: Jason Lin, David Lingan, Aiden Dixon, Meredith Heberling, Adhyan Negi, Samay Achar

Amazon Sigma Award

  • Description: The capstone team that delivers the best overall capstone experience is recognized with the Amazon Sigma Award, which is sponsored by Amazon of Seattle, Washington and Detroit, Michigan.
  • Team Meijer – Increasing Awareness of Meijer-Branded Products
  • Names: Viraj Shah, Robby Dewar, Mackenzi Steinmetz, Ishi Saripalle, Sonia Thalatoti

Electrical and Computer Engineering

College of Engineering Interim Dean John Papapolymerou says,
College of Engineering Interim Dean John Papapolymerou says, "Design Day is a shining example of how experiential learning and collaboration impact our communities and the whole world."

First Place Award

  • Team Fraunhofer USA, Michigan: Low-Cost Inkjet Printer for Selective Diamond Growth
  • Names: Pritham Kura, Andrew Barton, Noah Sanders, Mate Narh, Tuan Nguyen

Second Place Award

  • Team MSU Broadband Access Wireless Communications Lab: Systems for Managing Security Attacks on Machine Learning Systems
  • Names: Mathieu Chapaton, Blake Morris, Faris Sweis, Rashed Alumalla

Third Place Award

  • Team Texas Instruments: SEE Radiation Effects Validation Platform with Mechanical Positioner
  • Names: Colin Watkins, Rafael Gonzalez Zuniga, Aaron Elkin, Michael Charlton, Marcelo da Paz Leal

Fourth Place Award

  • Team MSU Smart Microsystems Lab: Automated Phosphate Sensing System
  • Names: Georgia Bolek, Remy Van Wert, Brendan Mack, Sebastian Spaenle, Gabrielle Price

Mechanical Engineering

Winner of the Edison Award for Best Capstone Design Project was Design Group 11 – Michigan AgrAbility. (Left to Right) Ryan Harth, Jack Darrow, Connor Mackenzie, Hannah Crist, Kaden Swierkos
Winner of the Edison Award for Best Capstone Design Project was Design Group 11 – Michigan AgrAbility. (Left to Right) Ryan Harth, Jack Darrow, Connor Mackenzie, Hannah Crist, Kaden Swierkos

ME 481 Edison Award for Best Capstone Design Project

  • Description: The Edison Undergraduate Design Award is given to the ME 481 Design Team that is judged to have produced the best technical design project.
  • Design Group 11 – Michigan AgrAbility: Rolling Kneeler Cart with Chest Strap
  • Names: Kaden Swierkos, Jack Darrow, Connor Mackenzie, Hannah Crist, Ryan Harth

ME 481 Best Capstone Project Presentation Award

  • Description: The ME 481 Best Capstone Project Presentation Award is for the best presentation of a design project.
  • Design Group 18 - MSU Department of Theater: Portable Wood Strength Tester
  • Names: Chris DeFinis, Miko Parkinson, Ava Shumaker, Deyuan Wang, Aaron Dawson
Congratulations to all the Design Day Awardees!
Congratulations to all the Design Day Awardees!

ME 470 Leonardo da Vinci Award

  • Description: The Leonardo da Vinci Award is presented to the team with the best machine design.
  • Team 11, Station A
  • Names: Max Fried, Elizabeth Grant, Kaitlyn Heffelbower, Kennedy Kullman, Joshua Picciano, Kody Simmons

MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations Page

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